Akwa Ibom 2019 will be about people, says REC

The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom state, Mr. Mike Igini, has said 2019 election in Akwa Ibom State would be about the people.

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Speaking in Lagos on the sideline of the third public lecture of the United Action for Change, the activist said the electoral commission has developed a template to make sure that party primaries are conducted in a transparent, free and fair manner.

Igini’s remarks came a day after former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio defected formally to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the state is already divided along APC and PDP lines.

He said before the conduct of party primaries, political parties have to submit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) names of members of the committees set up to conduct the election.

The REC also said political parties were required to send the commission internal party guidelines for the conduct of the primaries.

At the primary, he added that a member of the party must move a motion for voting and the result of the primaries must be duly signed.

These measures, according to him, were taken to ensure the credibility of the party primaries. He said the political parties must also inform the commission about the venues of their primaries which must not be changed at the eleventh hour.

“Political parties will not tell INEC and few hours to the exercise, they will move to another venue”, he said, adding that the manipulative tendencies of political parties make it difficult for people to make an informed choice.

“In Nigeria, you can’t campaign to delegates”, he said, urging Nigerians to be vigilant and ask relevant questions about how they are governed.